Abercrombie to The Situation: We'll pay you not to wear our clothes

The sexy-preppy stalwart issues a statement begging the Jersey Shore star to put some distance between its image and his abs

Typically, brands pay celebrities to wear their clothes, but Tuesday night, Abercrombie & Fitch inverted the equation. The preppy clothier issued a statement calling on Jersey Shore's Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino, who favors A&F gear, to "wear an alternate brand" on camera, saying it was "deeply concerned" with the oft-reinforced association between the train-wreck star and its clothing. Given that one of A&F's biggest sellers is a graphic tee emblazoned with "The Fitchuation," it's unclear whether the press release is merely a publicity ploy. One thing is for certain: This particular situation has commentators cracking wise. Here, a sampling:

I'm confused here Abercrombie's desire to distance itself from The Situation would seem to imply that the brand doesn't want to be associated with "shallow, materialistic people willing to spend unseemly amounts on ugly T-shirts in a desperate attempt to fit in and/or cling to an ideal of youth," says Sean O'Neal at The Onion's A.V. Club. Yeah, that's "hardly the clientele they want [and attract] at Abercrombie & Fitch."

Be thankful "Abercrombie should be grateful for any link between their attire and the zeitgeist," says Megan Gibson at TIME. "Frankly, we haven't thought about the brand this much since LFO's 'Summer Girls,' and that was back in 1999."

Unanswered questions "So, what's going on here? Some kind of joint PR stunt?" asks Caroline Bankoff in New York. "Or is A&F just experiencing the shame and regret countless grenades have felt upon waking up at 1209 Ocean Terrace after an epic night at Karma and realizing what, exactly, it means to sign a release form?"